A Balancing Act
by SmallTownStrego
Summary: Two years on from SBM, twins Jack and Kate Cooper move to Castle Rock and quickly attract the attention of Chris and Gordie. A tale of old friendships, new relationships and discovering yourself. Rated T. Some strong language, slash-tasteful of course.
1. Arrival at a Rivalry

**Disclaimer: Believe it or not I don't actually own any of the characters from the film 'Stand By Me' or the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King on which it is based. Even the characters I have made up were probably subconsciously lifted from elsewhere. _**

**Chapter One **

"Well, what do you reckon then? " Jack asked his sister.

"Seems alright to me. It's not exactly the most exciting place to live but it could be worse I suppose" Kate answered. "Besides, so long as this town ain't filled with same type of people as Riverhill was, I'll be happy."

"We might not be so lucky. Get a load of this guy up ahead." Jack recognised the swagger immediately despite never having laid eyes upon him before in his life. 'There's one in every town' Jack thought to himself. The youth was heading straight for them, flanked by a pair of hapless looking individuals who no doubt worshipped the ground he walked on. The all too familiar mixture of loathing and pity washed over Jack even before his first exchange with the delinquent that he would later learn was called Ace Merrill.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Ace spat.

"Someone who's trying too hard" retorted Kate.

"Well boys, who would have believed it? The little girl has an attitude. What about your friend here has he got something to say too?"

"Just back off and leave us alone, okay?" Jack said through gritted teeth.

"Now why would I want to do that? It's not like anyone is going to stop me now, is it?" Ace said with a smirk, stepping forward so he was right in Jack's face; a move that was met by sniggering approval from his cronies.

"Don't you dare touch him" Kate warned causing further amusement.

There was a short silence as Jack tried to keep control of himself.

"Tell me, what's it like being a walking stereotype; where the best you can hope to see in other people's faces is fear? Your act isn't gonna work this time. We're not intimidated by you" Jack said slowly, looking into the eyes of the bully. Ace maintained his cocky grin.

"Look kid, seeing as you clearly don't know who you're talking to, I'm gonna give you a second chance and let you off lightly. You caught me in a good mood today, but you can bet your life I won't be so…generous next time." Ace had barely finished speaking before he shoved Jack to the ground. Kate tried to stop him but instantly found herself restrained by one of the other boys. Ace delivered a swift kick to Jack's ribs and then he and his gang walked away laughing.

"J, are you okay? Can you sit up?" Kate asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Katie, don't worry. It's nothing really" He lied. Despite the pain, Jack struggled to his feet, and dusted himself off. He tried to give his sister a reassuring smile but it came out as more of a grimace in truth.

"I gotta say that was pretty impressive" said a voice behind them. Jack and Kate turned round to see who was addressing them and saw that it was boy about their age with short, fair hair and a smile on his face. He was accompanied by a brown-haired boy who was a little bit shorter with a much smaller frame than his friend. Despite the friendly expressions on the strangers' faces, Jack was suspicious of their intentions. A kick in the ribs will do that to you.

"Yeah I'm sure I looked like a true hero as I lay on the pavement" he said sarcastically.

"I mean the way you stood up to Ace" the boy laughed. "There aren't many kids in Castle Rock brave enough to tell him what they really think. I'm Chris by the way." The other boy named himself as Gordie as well.

"Yeah well let's just say I've met a fair few 'Aces' in my time" Jack said smiling at Chris. "I'm Jack and this is my twin sister Kate. We've only just moved here."

"Hi" said Kate who had suddenly become a bit shy.

"If you have any trouble with Ace again, you can count on me and Gordie to stand beside you. We might not be able to stop him but one things for sure, we'll all have to be on the ground before he can walk away" Chris said with such sincerity in his eyes that Jack couldn't help grinning.

"Really?" asked a surprised Kate. "Why would you do that for two kids you've only just met?"

"Chris may not look too clever but he's smart enough to realise that anyone brave enough to speak their mind to Ace Merrill is worth getting to know" answered Gordie and all four of them laughed. Not that it stopped Chris giving Gordie a quick punch to the arm.

"Looks like it's starting to rain. Maybe we should head back home Kate" said Jack with an unmistakeable hint of disappointment.

"We have a treehouse we could all hang out in if you wanted to" suggested Chris who seemed as reluctant to part company as Jack.

Kate looked at her brother. "Sounds like a plan!"

As they set off for the treehouse Jack couldn't help but think that he and his sister might have gotten lucky in moving to Castle Rock after all.

**This is my first ever fanfic so honest reviews would be greatly appreciated! **


	2. Tree House Revelations

_**Disclaimer: Believe it or not I don't actually own any of the characters from the film 'Stand By Me' or the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King on which it is based. Even the characters I have made up were probably subconsciously lifted from elsewhere**_** :O. **

**Chapter Two:**

Just as it was starting to rain quite heavily, Chris hoisted himself up into the tree house and held open the hatch as Kate, Gordie and finally Jack climbed up after him. There was just enough space for the four of them to sit and not be uncomfortable. Gordie took his normal place on one side of the tree house where Kate joined him, leaving Jack and Chris to sit round a small table in the centre. It had been a while since the tree house had been this full, Chris thought to himself. He and Gordie frequented it often but the days when they would spend hours and hours there with their friends Teddy and Vern were a thing of the past. Chris barely saw the other two at all anymore. He took out some cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself with a match and offered the rest up to the group.

"It's alright, I've got my own" replied Kate, who then retrieved her own stash from her jeans and joined him in having a smoke. Chris watched her as she breathed in the smoke. She was a pretty girl, he supposed, with expressive, emerald green eyes. By far her most striking feature however was her hair; kept in a simple ponytail but jet black with a distinctive streak of much lighter-coloured strands that sloped across her forehead from right to left. Chris would have been able to guess that the two were brother and sister if they hadn't already said so. Jack had the same colour of hair and although his was untidy, it seemed to suit him in Chris' view. He also observed that Jack's eyes were a much paler green than those of his sister, and his nose crinkled up when he laughed or smiled.

"So this is where you two come to hang out then?" asked Jack.

"Yeah we're normally either here or out in the woods somewhere" Gordie answered as Chris started dealing out a deck of cards for him and Jack to play on the little table.

"How come you moved to Castle Rock then?" Chris asked Jack.

"Well our Dad…he said he wanted a fresh start. He says that quite a lot actually" he replied. Chris sensed something in his tone.

"What's he like? Your Dad I mean, do you get along?" By this stage Kate and Gordie were talking amongst themselves. Chris wasn't concentrating on what they were saying but judging by the giggling, he could tell they were getting along just fine.

"Not really if I'm honest" said Jack, a little reluctantly and still looking at his cards. "It's just the three of us at home, and he and Kate are fine with each other, but with me…well my Dad has some strict views on what type of man his son should be I suppose."

"I see" said Chris taking one last draw of his cigarette before putting it out. He could tell Jack was a bit uncomfortable talking about the subject and wanted him to feel at ease. "You see that?" he asked, pointing at a cut above his right eye. "That's my Dad's handiwork. That's pretty much all you need to know about him."

"I guess neither of them will be winning Castle Rock's Father of the Year award then" Jack said half smiling.

"You can say that again… and would you look at that, Chris Chambers is victorious once again" he said laying his cards down on the table triumphantly.

"You know I'm only letting you win, right? I mean the new kid coming in and showing you up in your own tree house wouldn't be very good manners now would it?"

"Is that so?" Chris scoffed, "Well in what world is it good manners to tell someone you're letting them win?" The pair of them laughed. Chris was enjoying himself more than he had been for the last few months or so. Of course he still loved just hanging around doing nothing much with Gordie but when he was on his own he felt down most of the time and he wasn't entirely sure why. But sitting there in that tree house with the soothing sound of the rain steadily beating against the wood, he was perfectly content.

"Jack, Kate was just telling me about the time she shaved your eyebrows while you were sleeping!" Gordie said bringing Chris out of a daydream.

"Yeah my sister is a real joker," Jack said, rolling his eyes, "but I doubt she'd find it so amusing if it were the other way round."

"You should have seen the look on his boyfriend's face when he saw him. I thought I was going to die laughing!"

"Boyfriend! Y…You're gay?" asked Chris who was trying and failing to not sound too surprised.

"Ex-boyfriend now but yeah, I'm gay" Jack said casually. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"No, no, I just didn't think…" Chris said quickly before trailing off.

"Chris and I don't care Jack but I don't think the same can be said about a lot of people in this town," said Gordie tentatively.

"Well they're just going to have to deal with it, aren't they? Jack shouldn't have to lie about who he is Gordie!" Kate said indignantly.

"I'm not saying he should lie, just that it might be best if he didn't _broadcast it_ to the rest of the town." The scowl on Kate's face told Gordie she didn't like that idea much either, but fortunately for him he was saved by Jack.

"It's okay Kate, he's right. There's no point in me inviting trouble on myself if it can be avoided. Besides all that matters is that I know I'm being honest with myself and the people I care about," Jack said confidently. At that moment the bench gave way on Gordie's side leaving him in a heap on the wooden floor. Any awkwardness that was in the air beforehand melted away with the laughter, and the four continued chatting and joking for a further twenty minutes when the rain seemed to die down. Chris thought he did a good job of carrying on as normal but inside his mind there was only one thing on the agenda. Jack's words would resonate in Chris' head long after they left the tree house.

"Chris and I were planning on going up to the Royal River and camping out overnight tomorrow. It'd be really cool if you two came as well" Gordie said before they went their separate ways.

"Yeah that'd be great! We'll definitely be there" said Kate enthusiastically. The four agreed a time and a place to meet up and said their goodbyes. Chris shared a glance and a smile at Jack before returning home to replay the events of the day over and over again in his mind.

_**Personally I would hate it if you left a review. It would just be terrible and I forbid you to do it!***_

_***This better work or I'm writing Supernanny an angry letter!**_


	3. Advice and Anticipation

_**Disclaimer: Believe it or not I don't actually own any of the characters from the film 'Stand By Me' or the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King on which it is based. Even the characters I have made up were probably subconsciously lifted from elsewhere**_** :O. **

**Chapter Three:**

As she tip-toed her way through the maze of puddles on the pavement, Kate couldn't help but smile. She had been understandably apprehensive about moving to a new town full of strangers so she couldn't have hoped for her first day in Castle Rock to go any better. She felt like she could have sat in the tree house she just left for days on end. It was amazing how she and her brother could sit and talk with Gordie and Chris as if they had been friends since childhood, free from the clumsy conversations and initial awkwardness that normally come when meeting new people. She wasn't just excited about making new friends though, no, there was something else. There was Gordie. It seemed that Jack had noticed his sister's gleeful expression and was quietly laughing to himself.

"What?" said Kate attempting to adopt a serene persona.

"Oh it's nothing" he said mischievously.

"No, go on, what's so funny?"

"Well," he began after keeping his sister waiting a few seconds more, "it's just that I haven't seen you like this since Aaron Wells declared his love in for you spray paint on the school wall!"

"Oh shut up J" said Kate, annoyed that her brother knew her so well. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Is that so? Jack asked with a knowing smile. "I suppose it's the cold weather then that has turned your cheeks red all of a sudden.

"Fine! You're right, ok?" she sulked. "But don't pretend like I was the only one!"

"Well that's true. I think Gordie definitely likes you too."

"You _know _that's not who I meant J." It was Kate's turn to do the teasing but she didn't get the reaction she expected. Jack stayed quiet for over a minute and stared sombrely straight ahead.

"Even if I did like Chris, and I'm not saying I do, well it wouldn't matter anyway would it?" he said eventually. "It can't happen."

"What do you mean? It seemed that he liked you from where I was sitting" a confused Kate responded.

"He was just being friendly, Kate". She considered this for a second.

"I don't think you actually believe that. You're just too scared to take a risk."

"Well wouldn't you be? Maybe you've forgotten when I've been wrong about this type of thing before but I sure haven't!" Jack said before seemingly becoming captivated by his shoes.

"I remember" Kate said having to supress a laugh as she recalled her brother kissing a boy from school much to the latter's disgust. "Look, I'm not saying you should do anything drastic but why don't you just be honest and ask him if he's interested? Chris doesn't seem like the type to take it the wrong way."

"Yeah, maybe" Jack replied unconvincingly, drawing a sigh from his sister.

They had reached the house so Kate opened the door, stepped in and awaited the inevitable lecture. Sure enough Jack and Kate's father had seen them coming and was waiting for them in the small hallway of their new house. He was a tall man with thinning dark hair and more wrinkles than you would expect a 42 year-old to have. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that Mr Cooper spent most of his time worrying and the rest of it angry.

"Where in God's name have you two been? You said you were going for a walk not that you'd be out all day! I don't think you realise how much work we have to do on this house. Jack, get in the yard and start working on fixing the drainpipes like I told you to this morning."

"We're sorry Dad, we didn't mean to stay out so long. We were just making friends with people" Jack said quietly.

"_Making friends!_" his Dad sneered. "What's more important Jack? Your social life or getting our home fit for purpose? You said you'd do it I'll be damned if I'm raising a son who doesn't keep his word. Now do as you're told!"

Jack did do as he was told. He walked past his father without looking up and headed out to the back yard. It was a scene that Kate had witnessed many times before. She always wanted to help out but her Dad never let her. He would always say something along the lines of "He needs to learn how to do things on his own" and would tell Kate to get on with school work and the like. She never fully understood why he treated his son so differently to his daughter, but Kate knew it started around the time her mother left. The twins were nine years old at the time. One day they woke up and there was one less parent in the house. Jack pretended for a long time that their mother abandoning them didn't matter, but Kate knew he felt the same way she did. A mother is supposed to love her children unconditionally yet theirs didn't even care enough to stick around.

That evening went by painfully slowly. All Kate could think about was the following day, seeing Gordie again and going on a mini-adventure. Given that she couldn't get to sleep for a long time during the night Kate had already packed everything she needed for the day ahead. Eventually the time came for her and Jack to go meet Chris and Gordie, and they sneaked out carrying rucksacks with some supplies and an old sleeping bag each.

"We thought you weren't going to come in the end" Gordie said when he saw them, clearly pleased that he was wrong.

"Are you kidding me? I was so excited I barely slept last night" Kate admitted and immediately regretted doing so. She knew she could come across as a bit too eager sometimes but Gordie's smile got even wider when she said it.

"What did you tell your Dad anyway?" Chris asked the twins.

"The truth" said Kate.

"You mean your Dad was fine with you camping out with two people you've only just met in a place you've never been before?" asked Gordie incredulously.

"Well no, he doesn't _know _that I've told him the truth yet. I left a note and told him not to worry."

"Won't you still get in trouble?" he asked, still amazed.

"Of course. We probably won't be allowed out for a week or so. But that just means we'll have to make the most of our trip then!" Kate said, winking at Gordie before turning round to start their adventure.

_**I'll tell you what; you don't even have to leave a proper review. You can just leave the word 'mushroom' so I at least know you've read it! ;) **_


	4. Clarity by the Campfire

_**Disclaimer: Believe it or not I don't actually own any of the characters from the film 'Stand By Me' or the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King on which it is based. Even the characters I have made up were probably subconsciously lifted from elsewhere**_** :O. **

**Chapter Four:**

Gordie had dreamt the night before about how their adventure would pan out and it's fair to say that the journey was only going to plan for approximately four minutes. The reason for this was that as the four rounded the last corner before they would leave the town they were met by the approaching figures of Ace Merrill and Eyeball Chambers. They were too close for the four to simply run; they wouldn't all be able to get away.

Chris who was walking slightly ahead turned immediately and said "Gordie, you and Kate go on ahead and wait for us. We'll be fine."

"What? No way am I leaving you here!" Gordie tried to protest.

"Please Gordie, just go and look after my sister. Quickly!" Jack pleaded and Gordie had to oblige. He took Kate by the arm lead her off to the side hoping that Ace would just let them go. This was no easy feat as Kate was resisting quite fiercely. Gordie didn't like upsetting her like that but there was no choice. Fortunately for them, Ace seemed satisfied enough to just come face to face with Chris and Jack. Just before they walked out of sight Gordie looked round to see what was happening but nothing seemed to be happening at that stage.

Kate was very silent as they walked on, resigned to the fact that she had to leave her brother. After a while Gordie signalled that they should wait where they were for the other two so the pair sat down and stared in the direction they had come. "I'm sorry, Kate, we couldn't stay with them." Gordie murmured tentatively. Kate replied with a barely perceptible nod as tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

They were probably only waiting for around ten minutes but to them it felt like hours before they spied two figures slowly moving towards them in the distance. As they drew closer, Gordie saw that they were supporting each other as they walked and began to worry even more, until he realised that they were also laughing. Laughing! There Kate and Gordie were worried out of their minds and they were laughing! There was no room for anger though, only relief.

"What happened? Are you ok?" Kate shouted, now on her feet. Chris and Jack didn't respond until they were close. Gordie could see that they weren't really ok but still they laughed. Chris had a nasty looking cut under his eye and Jack was limping slightly.

"We're fine" said Jack smiling at Kate.

"Well you don't bloody look it! What the fuck happened!"

"It's nothing to worry about Katie, they just beat us up a bit. That's all they can do and it's not even going to stop us camping out tonight" laughed Jack. Kate still didn't look convinced but she hugged her brother.

"You had no right to do that J – sending me away just because I'm a girl. You're no better than Dad then" she said.

This clearly had an effect on Jack for a moment but he shook his head. "Well that may be but I'll do it again if I have to."

It didn't take long for the four of them to put the encounter with Ace to the back of their minds and start enjoying themselves. Chris in particular was having fun telling the worst jokes imaginable and then delighting in the groans from the others each time. After some encouragement from his best friend, Gordie told one of Chris' favourite stories about an old man who won the lottery and then lost his ticket only discover his dog had had it for dinner. Gordie was ecstatic that Jack and especially Kate enjoyed the story.

Gordie couldn't help but be reminded of the summer of two years ago. The four were taking a similar route to the one he, Chris, Teddy and Vern had when they went looking for the body of Ray Brower. The one key difference though was that this time they had no other goal than having a good time.

Just as they began to get tired of walking they reached their destination and set up camp in the woods about a 5 minute walk away from the river. Before long the four were sitting around a small fire that Chris had built eating various snacks that they had brought with them. Chris and Jack were talking about their run-in with ace in a jovial manner. Anytime that Jack was speaking, Gordie would watch Chris and observe his reactions. Gordie smiled to himself remembering what Chris had told him that morning before meeting the twins.

"So how come you're so good at writing stories, Gordie?" Kate asked interrupting his thoughts.

Gordie felt himself blushing. "I don't know… I mean I guess Chris always made me stick with it."

"You're not the only one with a hidden talent, Gordie" Jack said nodding over to his sister.

"Really?" he said. "What do you do, Kate?"

"Nothing, he's only messing around."

"Come off it Katie, you shouldn't be so modest" Jack said. "She can sing, Gordie."

After a full five minutes of cajoling from Jack, Chris and Gordie, Kate finally agreed to let them hear her sing. The sun was nearly down now so there was a dark red glow covering the camp with the fire throwing shadows around the group. Jack started to beat his lap with his palms creating an enchanting rhythm as they waited for Kate to begin.

She was amazing. If you had asked Gordie afterwards what song she was singing or what it meant, he wouldn't have been able to answer you. It was impossible for him to concentrate on what she was singing about. He was far too captivated by the sounds coming from her mouth to consider that they were words with meanings. But every bit as fantastic as hearing her sing was watching her sing thought Gordie. She sat very still, never taking her eyes off the fire in the middle of the group. However it seemed to Gordie that her gaze went far beyond that pile of burning logs. She looked lost in a daydream and _he_ couldn't take his eyes off _her_.

"That was unbelievable!" Gordie blurted out once she had finished, unable to hide his amazement.

"Thank you" said Kate shyly.

"Really I mean it. That was really incredible!"

Neither of them said anything; they just looked at each other with expressions of wonder on their faces. Chris and Jack shared a look and rolled their eyes, although they were clearly pleased as well. It was from that moment that Gordie knew she was something special, something new, something rare. He had never felt the way he did then before and he was nervous, excited, confused and assured all at once. He knew it was only just the beginning.

_**Couldn't resist a good bit of cheesiness! **_

_**A wise man once said that the greatest gift anyone can give is life. He's obviously never received a review ;)**_


	5. Time to Reflect in the Moonlight

_**Disclaimer: Believe it or not I don't actually own any of the characters from the film 'Stand By Me' or the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King on which it is based. Even the characters I have made up were probably subconsciously lifted from elsewhere**_** :O.**

_**Thanks for the reviews! I think Piekie has a point about the pacing of the story and, although I was planning this chapter from the beginning, I hope it's a good change of gear. Apologies for the lack of dialogue, mind!**_

**Chapter Five:**

The sun had fully set now, and it was relatively quiet as they sat by the campfire surrounded by darkness. Gordie and Kate had moved closer together and were chatting to each other in hushed voices about nothing terribly important. Jack looked across at Chris and saw that he was lying flat on his back with his hands behind his head. He seemed peaceful but at the same time in deep thought. Jack decided not to disturb him even if he could think of something to say that didn't sound boring or stupid. He wanted to just sit and watch him for a while but he thought better of it.

"I'm just going for a walk down to the river" he said, standing up. He was glad they didn't ask why because he wasn't entirely sure himself; he just wanted a place to think away from the others.

Jack walked very slowly through the trees, all the while looking at his feet making sure not to trip on any sticks or roots. His eyes soon adjusted from the brightness of the fire to the darkness of the night and he was able to go a little quicker. Not that he was in any rush. As he progressed further through the woods, the rustling of leaves on the trees began to give way to the trickling sound of water in the distance. Gradually the number of trees dwindled and Jack eventually stepped out onto a flat grassy area that led right down to the river. There were various large rocks dotted about the bank, so Jack picked one right by the water and perched himself on top.

It was then that he noticed the moon for the first time. It wasn't visible at the campfire due to the trees, but it was as big and bright as he had ever seen it. Its glow bathed the scene in a pretty blue light which, together with the gentle sound of the river, provided a very soothing setting indeed. In contrast to this peaceful backdrop, the inside of Jack's mind was buzzing with activity. He came to try and clear his head but he couldn't even find a good place to begin. It had been a manic couple of days and he genuinely didn't know what to feel at that moment. Moving to a new town would have been stressful enough on its own but there were so many more things to consider on top of that. He was frustrated with his Dad, pleased for his sister and most of all confused about Chris.

So he decided not to think about himself at all for a while.

Instead he just observed the scene around him and tried to breathe it all in. Even with the steady rhythm of the water moving it was a remarkably still night. The longer he looked around the more little things he noticed that he would have otherwise missed, like how the moonlight reflected off the water creating little dancing shadows on the rocks or how he could hear the odd grasshopper somewhere far off in the distance if he listened carefully. It was _beautiful,_ he thought. Jack felt at that moment that he could nearly understand everything his English teachers at school used to say about the books he had to read. For the first time he came close to comprehending how poets and artists viewed even the most trivial matter. He almost had a complete understanding of something that was truly abstract; intangible but there nonetheless.

And then as quickly as this complex realisation came, it was crushed by the absurdity of the situation he was in. _What the hell am I doing? I'm fourteen years old! _He was still just a kid really and yet there he was sitting on a rock by the river in the middle of the night trying to contemplate some profound truth about the world around him. If anyone had been watching him they would have thought he was mad because he began to laugh out loud at how silly he felt. _That's always been my problem_, he thought. Always trying to find meaning in the most insignificant things, always trying to be a grown up. He supposed that his Dad was probably to blame for that although not entirely. Jack liked to pretend that being gay didn't make him feel any different but that wasn't strictly true. He often felt that it stopped him being care-free and casual with regards to friends and relationships. _I shouldn't be here; I should be back at the fire talking nonsense with my friends._

So when his thoughts drifted back to the problems he had been so preoccupied with earlier on, this newly acquired frame of mind made them seem so clear in his mind. So what if he sometimes felt nothing but real hatred for his father, and so what if he got upset occasionally because he couldn't be completely honest with him? _Who doesn't have some problems with their parents? _He had Kate, and that was more than some people had.

Then there was Chris; the boy that made him second-guess everything he was going to say, the boy who had probably occupied ninety per cent of his thoughts since he met him. At first Jack struggled to remember why this was a problem but when it did come to him it temporarily threatened his new light-hearted outlook on life. _I'm gay and Chris is not. It can't happen._ That's all there was to be said, he concluded. He had spent hours on end worrying about losing a friend he had only just made. Hours on end wishing for something more when what he had now was so damn good. _Just enjoy the present, Jack. Make the most of the time you have now. _He had made up his mind. They were going to be friends and Jack wasn't going to overthink every little thing anymore.

Well, that was the plan, and he genuinely did think he could do it. But as he had learnt in one of those English classes, 'the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry'. He had contented himself with being nothing more than friends with Chris Chambers, but at that moment God or fate or something or someone else that Jack would never understand intervened as he heard a voice behind him. A voice he had not known for long, but one he would know anywhere.

"Jack…is it okay if I talk to you about something?" 

_**I once heard that you can die if you have too many reviews. I don't buy that. Come to think of it, they may have been talking about bananas instead… Review if you like but please no bananas!**_


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